The event will bring together food trucks from across South Dakota while raising food donations and support for Feeding South Dakota.

Each participant in the event brings their own unique menu, concept and reason for bucking the conventions of the brick-and-mortar restaurant industry.

Some hit the road, chafing against creative limitations of somebody else’s kitchen. Others are hunting an affordable way to test recipes and dip their toes into a competitive market. It starts with an opportunity or a philosophy – or sometimes even a dream.

Here’s a closer look at a few of the trucks slated to appear at the fairgrounds Saturday evening.

PAPA WOODY’S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA

Lisa Esser and her husband have a combined 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

When her sister died, they took in her four children. With two of their own children, it meant finding a way to provide and care for a new family of eight.

“He was a stay at home dad and I was working an ungodly amount of hours,” Esser said. “He didn’t have a life and I was never at home.”

Then, they hatched an idea for a food truck. It allowed them to go into business together and bring something new to the Sioux Falls scene: A wood-fired pizza oven on wheels.

Esser, her husband Steve Blumke or her 16-year-old son Arien all work on the truck, which has found a niche for itself in catering special events.

Papa Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza was the result, and it hit the road in September of 2016. Papa Woody’s serves up seven-inch pies, all made-to-order with fresh ingredients. Because of the wood-fired oven, pizzas often cook faster than the prep time.

“If you figure out how to do it good and fast, then I think we had something,” Esser said.

BREAKING BURRITO

They wanted their three girls to grow up close to their grandparents and Dang’s own siblings, but that meant her husband, a restaurant manager, needed to find a new job.

They decided to start a food truck and looked for trailers on Facebook.

“He said, ‘you know what, we’ll just take a leap of faith and run with the idea,’” Dang said.

After trying out recipes at an earlier location near the Smithfield plant and eventually upgrading to a customized food truck last year, Breaking Burrito has developed enough of a following to stay busy all summer, Dang said.

The name comes from the couple’s love of the AMC show "Breaking Bad." Dang’s husband, Carlos Salgado, runs the day-to-day operations while Dang handles back-end duties.

The menu includes traditional Mexican fare such as burritos, tacos and quesadillas.

BROKEN TRELLIS

There’s a reason why this food truck is named after a wooden garden feature.

That’s because its roots go all the way back to the community garden Gregg Brandt and Jenna Daley tried to start in Yankton.

Brandt and Daley have kept many of the same philosophies that inspired the garden years ago, but have since hopped to the other end of the farm-to-table paradigm.

It started with selling his produce and his parent’s meats at the farmer’s market in Yankton, Brandt said. He decided a good way to supplement the stand would be to cook up some dishes using ingredients fresh from the farm.

Demand continued to grow until Brandt and Daley decided to commit their full attention to the preparing and serving food. They bought a trailer in July.

They work hard to include as many South Dakota-grown ingredients as possible in their recipes, which continue to rotate to keep diners interested.

“We change our menu every week,” Daley said. “We do things that you can’t find in this area.”

A contributed photo of the Broken Trellis food truck.(Photo: Contributed by Broken Trellis)

IF YOU GO

What: Food Truck Mash-Up

When: 5-11 p.m. Saturday (with Early Access starting at 3 p.m.)

Details: Sponsored by Argus Leader Media with Feeding South Dakota as a charity partner.

Tickets: $5 in advance, $8 at the door for general admission. $20 for Early Access tickets. Free for veterans, active military members and first responders.